The Top 3 Skills You Need to Be a Successful Freelancer

Every freelancer dreams of the day they’ll be able to enjoy a life of financial stability and a long line of clients waiting to get in touch with them.

It’s very possible to get to that point in your freelancing business. I’ve seen and met freelancers of different fields who are able to achieve these goals. But to do so requires a lot more than just getting the job done.

I discovered that being a freelancer with award-winning skills is just one section of the success pie.

If you want clients to keep coming back, you have to give them a reason to come back. A lot of that has to do with how they feel and what they experience when working with you, and so you want to give them the most positive experience—bordering on life-changing, if any.

Ready to make a huge difference in your clients’ lives? Master these top 3 skills:

Skill #1: Marketing

20 years of experience as a designer or writer won’t get you anywhere if no one knows you exist.

You have to continuously market yourself. Get the word out that there’s a freelancer clients can hire to turn ideas into viable products. Let people know that you have the skills they need to make their dreams become actual projects.

Marketing may sound sleazy and distrustful, but it’s the lifeblood of any business. If you want yours to succeed, you have to market your freelancing business consistently and effectively for your target clients to know you have the services they need for their businesses.

The good news is that marketing doesn’t have to come off as scammy or suspicious. By simply being yourself and letting people know you have value to offer, that’s marketing that can draw people in.

Skill #2: Generosity

Let me clear the air right off the bat that generosity does NOT mean giving your work away for free or selling yourself too short.

Generosity goes hand-in-hand with balance so that it makes sense for you and your business. You want your clients to love working with you, and one way to do this is to show them that you care about their best interests above being paid for your services.

One example I’ve learned is the sage advice of “under-promising and over-delivering.”

This means setting the right expectations from the start of the project, and blowing them away with exceptional work and customer service.

With every single client I’ve worked with, I focused on their happiness and satisfaction. This encourages them to hire me the next time they need a writer and a blogger for upcoming projects.]

Skill #3: Professionalism

What separates the successful freelancers from the rest of the crowd is their level of professionalism.

These freelancers see themselves as a business and not as a contractor for hire. They know that they’re in this for the long-run, so they have to treat their businesses with respect. This means being firm with their rates, treating their clients well, knowing when to say “no” and doing the work necessary to meet their monthly and yearly business goals.

Strive to maintain a good level of professionalism with every single person you encounter in your business. In return, people will look to you with the same level of respect and professionalism.

What’s your idea of success?

We talked about being a successful freelancer throughout the post, and each of us has a different idea of what “success” means.

What does success mean for you? What do you intend to do to get to that point in your freelancing business? Do share your ideas with me in the comments!

Stef Gonzaga is a writer and creative who creates passion-driven work for people to use, enjoy, and share with the world. To learn more about how to launch and build your freelancing business for success, check out the Launch Your Freelancing Biz program for a lifetime access to all of her freelancing tools, guides, and resources.